Magic in the Mountains

The story of how world-class violinist MinTze Wu, whos delicately wielded her instrument to play classical and folk fiddle music from her native Taiwan to the wild shores of Newfoundland, ended up living in Lyons a couple of years ago must be a whopper. But more important is what shes done with her time here. In addition to performing with the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, shes made a commitment to spreading diversity in music by staging the first Sounds of Lyons music festival, an event that freely combines genres and pushes any stodgy misconceptions right out of town.

Creating this festival is like playing with clay, Wu explains. I can mold it into any shape I like, and Im immersed in that atmosphere of wanting to create something new and different. To that end, the weekend mini-festival kicks off at 8 p.m. May 30 at Rogers Hall, Fourth and High streets, with a performance of Death of a Pugilist, Wus musical drama thats based on a story about a longshoreman-turned-boxer by author Daniel Mason, and features snippets of everything from traditional blues to Philip Glass. A more formal string quartet concert, Sforzando & Dolce, follows at 4 p.m. Sunday at Lyons Community Church, 350 Main Street, with Passage, a concert set off by the old/new juxtaposition of a string quartet and an cappella choir, wrapping things up at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Planet Bluegrass Wildflower Pavilion.

Admission to Sounds of Lyons is $15 per concert or $35 for an all-inclusive pass; theres also a $50 sponsor level pass. Go to www.soundsoflyons.com for information and tickets.
May 30-31, 2009

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